Hello ladies, gentlemen, and everything between and beyond; welcome to the next installment of Harry Potter meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer City of Ashes. We’ve finally come to the chapter from which the book derives its name, and just like in the previous book, it really isn’t all that important to the actual plot. This might lead you to wonder why the book and this chapter have the same name. The answer is simple – so CC could maintain her naming scheme.

Sometimes, this kind of thing works. For example, all the books in George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series have titles following the “[article] [noun] [preposition] [other noun]” scheme. Except there it actually kind of ties in to the events of the novel. A Game of Thrones deals primarily with politics (and the phrase is even said at one point); A Clash of Kings is mostly about the War of the Five Kings; A Storm of Swords brings the War to a close; A Feast for Crows deals with the aftermath of the War of the Five Kings; and A Dance with Dragons does the same, while also bringing some of the focus back to Daenerys, who we hadn’t seen since Storm.

That’s not the case here, though – here, CC seems to have just gone with these titles because they sound cool, just like the name of the series as a whole.

Anyway, as you might remember, the last chapter saw the plot finally take the stage after hanging around in the wings for about four chapters. Yes, I know the Harry Potter books would spend the first few chapters re-establishing the status quo, and Rowling certainly didn’t wait until almost a fifth of the way through to make Harry & co. aware of the main plot. It was okay in the first book, CC, because you had quite a bit to establish (or at least, you should have), but that’s not the case her.

But I’ve wasted enough time, so let’s get to it.

We’re still in Clary’s head, proving that CC is at least aware of how to maintain tension. She’s been given a grand total of two magic tattoos: one that looks like an eye, the purpose of which is unexplained, but presumably lets her see through glamours (which I thought she could already do, but whatever); and another that will give her some kind of protection, though exactly how is left unclear. One thing is clear, though – even Isabelle realized that Clary would be utterly useless in a fight.

So they take a cab to the cemetery, and as they go to the Silent City’s entrance, Clary takes note of several of the Shadowhunter names engraved on the wall:

Youngblood, Fairchild, Thrushcross, Nightwine, Ravenscar.

You know I notice about all of these? They have a decidedly English sound, which is odd, given how they’re supposed to be from a place “between Germany and France.”

Shoddy World Building: 1

Also, I have no doubt that the Youngblood line all died from a horrible disease.

Anyway, they reach the statue, and Clary tells them that Brother Jeremiah used a magic rune to open the door last time. Alec is hesitant to try that, and says that the Silent Brothers should have known they were coming and opened the door. So he then decides to cut his palm and rub the blood on the statue. Guess he didn’t plan on using that hand anyway. But it is nice to see that at least this place has better security than their home base.

However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that Clary’s “I’ll just go there on my own” threat kind of fails, because I doubt she’d be able to get inside.

This of course works, but the tunnel leading down is completely dark. Clary makes the brilliant observation that “Something’s wrong.”

No Shit Sherlock: 1

Wow, haven’t seen one of those since chapter 3.

Clary pulls out the magic glowing rock Jace gave her back in the first book, and Alec leads the way down, with Isabelle bringing up the rear. As they pass by all the mausoleums, Alec makes this observation:

Alec looked somberly down the rows. “I never thought I would enter the Silent City,” he said. “Not even in death.”

To which Clary responds thusly:

“I wouldn’t sound so sad about it,” Clary said. “Brother Jeremiah told me what they do to your dead. They burn them up and use most of the ashes to make the City’s marble.”

First, Clary and/or CC once again demonstrates that she doesn’t understand how or what marble is. If anything, this sounds like a form of concrete. (Feel free to correct me on this, as I’m not a geologist.)

You Keep Using That Word: 1

Second, Clary, what the hell do you know about it? Isabelle points out immediately afterwards that that’s actually considered an honor by Shadowhunters. So yeah, Alec being worried about being excluded from something that important (presumably because he’s gay) makes perfect sense.

Our “Heroes”: 1

Isabelle also points out that mundanes also cremate corpses, but Clary thinks that it’s still “creepy”.

Our “Heroes”: 2

Girl, what do you know from creepy? You want real creepy? Check out the Sedlec Ossuary. That chapel incorporated the remains of between 40,000 and 70,000 people into the decorations and furnishings, including a chandelier. Don’t believe me? See for yourselves:

So yeah, don’t complain about how what the Shadowhunters do is weird/gross/creepy. Especially when you’re so damn eager to join their ranks.

As they move on, CC describes how the city smells, which I will commend her for. It’s all too easy for writers (especially beginning writers) to forget that descriptions in novels aren’t limited to the visual. In this case, Clary smells smoke and ashes (which were apparently there the last time… that’s a bit worrying), along with a rotting-fruit smell.

Alec decides that now is the time to pull out his totally-not-a-lightsaber. Why he didn’t do this sooner, say when they started down, I don’t know. And unless he respec’d for melee between books, I kind of doubt that thing will be all that useful.

They continue onward, and eventually reach the area where Clary got her brain scrambled in the last book, and they discover that the Silent Brothers are all dead, and the MacGuffin Sword is missing. All of which would be more shocking if we didn’t already learn this in the last chapter. Oh, and Clary has once again gone into observation mode, as Alec and Isabelle are the only ones commenting on this.

The two semi-professionals examine the scene for a bit, and I kind of like that they’re reacting differently: Isabelle is shocked and incredulous, Alec is cool and professional. Clary, as previously mentioned, has no reaction to anything.

*Our “Heroes”: 3

They find some bloody footprints and follow them down a hallway, which leads them to a set of doors hanging open.

Clary somehow just knows that Jace is on the other side. I’m not exaggerating, either – the narration actually says that she “somehow […] sensed him.” This is bad writing. Anytime a character “somehow” knows or senses or feels something, it says to me that the author couldn’t come up with a way to explain their actions, and didn’t feel like taking the time to figure one out.

Also, I’m reasonably certain that this is intended to show that Clary and Jace have a ‘special bond’ that no doubt is a sign of their ‘tru luv’.

Both Hands, Ma’am: 1

Blech.

So Clary, having less sense of self-preservation than a suicidal lemming, sprints through the doors, and finds the jail cells, with Alec and Isabelle (you know, the ones who are actually armed) following behind. Clary immediately spots the corpse of Brother Jeremiah, but only after noticing a shape in the cell his corpse is in front of. Clary is about as bothered by Jeremiah’s death as Jace was, because she shoves the dead body aside to get at the door. Why bother showing respect for the dead when the guy she wants to bang might be hurt?

*Our “Heroes”: 4

It’s only after this that she gets any confirmation that the cell doesn’t have a random body in it, because it makes a noise. So Clary starts trying to open the door, but with no luck – the doors don’t have a physical locking mechanism, instead using magic. Raising the question of why they have hinges (which they do) in the first place.

Shoddy World Building: 2

So Clary whips out her not-a-wand and casts –Alohomora- Knock an opening spell. Presumably, this is the same one Jace used to break into that church in the last book, which, I feel the need to remind you all, resulted in the lock being melted.

Well, Clary apparently got Ginny Weasley’s over-powered spells, because the door is ripped off its hinges and falls into the cell. Yep, she and Jace are definitely related – they have the same utter lack of subtlety.

Clary rushes into the cell, confirms that its occupant is indeed Jace, and starts making a catalog of his various injuries (read: bruises), once again showing her priorities. Every single Silent Brother has been brutally murdered? Pfft. Jace looks pale and has a few bruises? Get him to the emergency room!

Our “Heroes”: 5

Both Hands, Ma’am: 2

Then Clary starts stroking Jace and has all these tender feelings, all the while repeatedly emphasizing that they’re totally not because she wants to bone him. Nope. Not at all.

Both Hands, Ma’am: 3

CC, no one is buying it. You couldn’t give that away.

Jace wakes up, and is shocked to find that Clary’s there and he’s not dead. Clary explains that he passed out and may have hit his head. And I honestly can’t summarize this next bit. Behold:

His hand came up to cover hers where it lay on his cheek. “Worth it,” he said in such a low voice that she wasn’t sure it was what he’d said, after all.
“What’s going on?” It was Alec, ducking through the low doorway, Isabelle just behind him . Clary jerked her hand then cursed herself silently. She hadn’t been doing anything wrong.

First, this

Next, this

Both Hands, Ma’am: 4

CC? Stop it. It’s not cute. It’s not funny. It’s not remotely subtle.

Anyway, Alec and Isabelle enter the cell, and apparently didn’t see any of what just happened, despite Clary carrying one of their only sources of light with her and them standing right there. Alec asks Jace the following questions – “Are you hurt?”, “What happened?” and “Can you remember?” but Jace gets indignant, because apparently three questions (two, really, as the second and third are the same thing) are just too many for him to handle at the moment.

Isabelle asks Jace who hurt him (because remember, his minor injuries are a major concern) and Jace explains that he injured his own wrist. Being a big baby, he winces at the pain.

This causes both Alec and Clary to jump into action, because they both want to fondle Jace as much as possible. Alec manages to glare Clary into submission, and casts a healing spell. (I’d like to think it’s Cure Minor Wounds, but you just know Jace would treat a broken and bloody wrist on his off-hand as something requiring Cure Serious Wounds.)

For some reason, Jace asks about Brother Jeremiah, but when told that the Brother is dead, says that he already knows. I’d say this was to show Jace actually does care, except that he clearly doesn’t give a shit.

Isabelle asks if the Silent Brothers killed each other, but Jace explains vaguely that something else killed them. He then fakes having a headache or something (I refuse to believe he’s in any actual pain), presumably so he doesn’t have to mention that Valentine was there. You know, Jace, not mentioning a visit from your genocidal father kind of throws doubts on any claims that you’re not secretly loyal to him.

Now, were this a good book, I’d say this was a good way to do just that. But since A) we’ve already established that the one character who doesn’t trust Jace is our secondary villain, and B) Jace is CC’s little darling, and she won’t let anything bad happen to him ever, I’m not buying it. So while I may think it makes perfect sense for Jace to actually be loyal to Valentine, my reasons don’t line up with what CC insists.

Clary gets all nervous, and says they should get moving. And while she is being the typical frightened female, she is speaking sense. Jace says that the thing is gone, but admits that “he could still bring it back.” But just when Alec asks just who “he” is, Jace has yet another convenient fainting spell, causing Alec to forget his question.

Jace waves off Alec’s concern, saying that he’s alright, at which Alec points out that the only thing keeping him upright at the moment is the wall. And this would be a mildly funny moment, if CC didn’t once again ruin it by making sure that Jace always gets the last word. To whit,

“It’s leaning,” Jace told him. “Leaning comes right before standing.”

Rapier Twit: 1

CC, I’d be more forgiving of Jace constantly protecting his fragile ego if you weren’t doing the exact same thing all the time.

Isabelle then reminds everyone that she’s there by being the most adult person in the room and reminding them all that they should get going. Clary agree, fawns over Jace a bit more,

Both Hands, Ma’am: 5

but Alec cock-blocks her (or the female-equivalent) by offering to let Jace lean on him instead. But before we can finally leave, they have to stop and stare at Brother Jeremiah’s body a bit more. Isabelle gets further brownie points from me by taking Jeremiah’s hood and covering his face, so he at least has some dignity.

And then we get this bit of commentary from Alec and Jace

“I’ve never seen a Silent Brother afraid,” Alec said. “I didn’t think it was possible for them to feel fear.”
“Everyone feels fear.”

Yes, Jace, yes they do. The secret, though, is knowing what to do with that. Because despite what that terrible Will Smith/M. Night Shyamalan movie After Earth might claim, fear is not, in fact, a choice – how you react to it is.

After that bit of “wisdom”, Jace looks all shell-shocked, which elicits yet more concern from Clary.

Both Hands, Ma’am: 6

That done, they finally start heading for the exit. The description of which consists largely of Clary staring at Jace so we can get his reactions to this stuff, because his are the only ones that matter now.

Both Hands, Ma’am: 7

In the main chamber area, Jace makes some cryptic comment about something “[feeling] wrong,” which Alec rightly brushes off because they still need to get out of this place.

They make their way through the mausoleums, but when they get near the top of the stairs, they’re hit by a sudden bright light. And no summation I attempt will do this bit justice. See for yourselves:

“The sun couldn’t have risen yet— could it?” Isabelle murmured. “How long were we down here?”
Alec checked his watch. “Not that long.”
Jace muttered something, too low for anyone else to hear him. Alec craned his ear down. “What did you say?”
“Witchlight,” Jace said, more loudly this time.

You guys can’t tell the difference between the light given off by your magic glowing rocks and natural sunlight.

And I know that getting through this book is a slog, and CC sucks at conveying the passage of time, but there is no way that that little jaunt took more than an hour or two.

Finally, this is one of the most important locations for Shadowhunters, period. And it just got busted open like a kid’s piggy bank. Are you really that surprised that other Shadowhunters finally showed up?

I don’t have a count for this, guys. It’s not the characters being stupid for no reason at all. So I guess I’ll just go with this:

Almost done, guys.

So our less-than-intrepid heroes rush up the remaining stairs, and wouldn’t you know it, there’s a whole bunch of other Shadowhunters just standing around with their thumbs up their butts.

And I guess someone pointed out the utter lack of diversity among Shadowhunters, because the first one to say anything at the kids’ appearance is a black guy (whose name is revealed to be Malik, so I assume he’s supposed to be from one of the Arabic parts of the world). And what does he say?

“By the Angel,” the man said . “Maryse— there was already someone down there.”

No Shit Sherlock: 2

You Keep Using that Word: 2

The first is because all thirty Shadowhunters can clearly see that. The second is because of CC’s continued use of Random Capitalization.

And how does Maryse respond to the sight of her kids dragging their adopted brother out of what’s supposed to be prison?

“I know, Malik,” she said. “These are my children.”

Once again, was that line missed in the revisions? Because that does not follow from the preceding one. How did Maryse know that her kids were down there? And if she did, why were she and the twenty-plus Shadowhunters present not sprinting down there to find them?

No, I know why that line is the way it is – because it’s a suitably dramatic statement to end a chapter on. Or it would be, if there were any drama to be wrung from this scene in the first place. Or this chapter, to be honest.

Because at no point is there ever any implication that anyone is in any danger. We already knew that Jace was fine, and that Clary & co. would find him. Maybe there could have been some tension if they had to figure out a way to get Jace out of his cell, but Clary’s inexplicable ability to cast super-spells shot that in the head.

Really, I’m more curious as to what the other Shadowhunters were so damn busy with that they weren’t already at the Silent City when the kids got there. You can’t tell me that they needed almost thirty people to investigate the death of one kid. And if they had to call in some of these people from other stations (or whatever), then why were all the ones in New York off playing CSI? Why didn’t the Silent Brothers have a means of contacting them directly? And if they did, why didn’t they?

CC’s tried to mimic the world of Harry Potter, but shot herself in the foot in the process. By making every member of her secret, magical, better-than-you society a warrior, it raises questions as to why they don’t all act like it.

You know what would have been better, at least from my perspective? Have Clary, Alec, and Isabelle show up at the entrance to the Silent City, only to find the other Shadowhunters already there. The kids find Maryse, and manage to get some basic information out of her – something attacked the Silent City, apparently killing everyone inside. The kids are worried.

Then someone says they found a survivor – and it’s Jace. He claims he doesn’t know anything, but everyone else (especially the Inquisitor) is skeptical. Clary, Alec, and Isabelle are more trusting, but do find it strange that Jace doesn’t remember anything about the attack. And the reader, knowing what actually happened, might start to wonder if Jace really is as innocent as he claims to be.

But that would require CC being willing to cast aspersions on her precious Jacey-poo, which will never happen.

Well, that’s chapter 6. Next time, we finish off the first part of this book.

Counts

Entirely Pointless: 0 (Total: 25)
Un-Logic: 0 (Total: 18)
You Keep Using That Word: 2 (Total: 27)
Shoddy World Building: 2 (Total: 14)
Rapier Twit: 1 (Total: 23)
Our “Heroes”: 5 (Total: 42)
No Shit Sherlock: 2 (Total: 6)
Both Hands, Ma’am: 7 (Total: 25)
A Word from Our Sponsors: 0 (Total: 2)

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Comment

  1. The Smith of Lie on 5 March 2015, 11:40 said:

    If the City of Ashes was instead City of Bones and an actual ossuary it would be awesome. And since Shadowracists use magic by the way of scribbling on themselves one could concievably make up a reason for such ossuary to exist – since the magic use over the years seeps into their very bones, Shadowhunter’s remains are themselves powerful magical objects, terrible things could happen if SH’s bones fell into wrong hands. City of Bones keeps them safe from would be necromancers or warlocks with no scrupules who could use thier power for their own ends. And by properly utilising the bones, the magic inside them used to power incredibly strong wards.

    Then the demon Valentine used could be plot relevant by the way of being able to bypass wards (as seen in the prologue) and letting him into ossuary for whatever it was that Valentine wanted.

    Also, it would make for much cooler prison. The very walls and bars of each cell being made of the bones, arranged in such a way to sap at the will and power of anyone contained within. Then Jayce’s stint in the jail would be properly traumatic instead of just annoying. Sitting in the cell under duress, beset by magic designed to destroy the very will to try and escape.

    This would also account perfectly for how easily Silent Brothers were slaughtered – inside their perfect fortress they grew complacent, never expecting an attack, believing that they are beyond being infiltrated. It could even be a step towards giving Valentine the street cred he so desperately needs. Especially if the place was established more in the first book – say, making even someone as inept as Clary feel the power thrumming in the air or even showing some failed attempt to bypass wards by someone.

    Of course that’d require giving it more thought besides “does it sound cool”.

  2. Aikaterini on 5 March 2015, 12:46 said:

    You know I notice about all of these? They have a decidedly English sound, which is odd, given how they’re supposed to be from a place “between Germany and France.”

    Why didn’t Clare just say that the Shadowhunters were originally from England, if she’s not even going to bother giving most of them French or German names?

    I’m reasonably certain that this is intended to show that Clary and Jace have a ‘special bond’ that no doubt is a sign of their ‘tru luv’.

    Even though Jace treats her like a child and the only thing that Clary likes about him are his looks. Sure.

    Clary is about as bothered by Jeremiah’s death as Jace was, because she shoves the dead body aside to get at the door.

    Really?! This doesn’t show me how desperate Clary is, Ms. Clare, this shows me how inconsiderate and selfish she is.

    Every single Silent Brother has been brutally murdered? Pfft. Jace looks pale and has a few bruises?

    Well, that’s exactly what she did after Jace attacked the werewolves, so at least she’s being a consistently stupid and awful person.

    You know, Jace, not mentioning a visit from your genocidal father kind of throws doubts on any claims that you’re not secretly loyal to him.

    And why doesn’t he tell them? Like I’ve said over and over again, nobody cares that he joined Valentine in the last book. Isabelle, Alec, and Clary are all slavishly devoted to him for no reason. So, why doesn’t he just tell them? It’s not like the Inquisitor is here and he doesn’t want to tell her about Valentine because he’s afraid that she’ll immediately suspect that he’s loyal to him. These are his supposed friends.

    Jace has yet another convenient fainting spell, causing Alec to forget his question.

    Oh, of course. This moment could have come out of a parody, given how ridiculous it is.

  3. Lurker on 5 March 2015, 14:55 said:

    Okay, in my opinion, the only way you get away with having a character “just sensing something” is if they are a Jedi.

    Also, with the mention of how the names don’t really fit the France and Germany setting of the Shadowhunters’ homeland, I decided to do some quick googling on Valentine. As much as his name got made fun of in the previous book’s sporking, it never bothered me because Valentine isn’t an uncommon name among Eastern Orthodox Christians (though not pronounced the same way as we say the holiday). I was wondering whether it might be used in France and Germany, and some quick googling told me that a feminine form, Valentina, is sometimes used for girls in France. So now I’m probably going to be mentally filling in Valentina for the rest of the sporking.

  4. swenson on 5 March 2015, 15:02 said:

    Why didn’t Clare just say that the Shadowhunters were originally from England, if she’s not even going to bother giving most of them French or German names?

    This has been bothering me since the last book. It seems like the most basic, simplest bit of worldbuilding.

  5. Aikaterini on 5 March 2015, 15:49 said:

    @Lurker:

    I was wondering whether it might be used in France and Germany, and some quick googling told me that a feminine form, Valentina, is sometimes used for girls in France.

    There’s a French and German masculine form of the name, which is Valentin. If Valentine’s name had been Valentin instead, I wouldn’t laugh at it (or at least not as much) because a) it’s a name that’s still commonly used and b) it wouldn’t have reminded me of St. Valentine’s Day.

    I don’t know, just seeing the name and picturing the characters saying it out loud…it just doesn’t signal “Evil Overlord” to me.

  6. Apep on 5 March 2015, 16:09 said:

    @Smith of Lie:

    To be fair, some of that stuff is alluded to in the first book. The most explanation given was that Shadowhunter remains have “special properties” that I assume protect the place from demons. But Clary/CC evidently didn’t consider that worth exploring.

    And your idea is way cooler than what we got.

    Why didn’t Clare just say that the Shadowhunters were originally from England, if she’s not even going to bother giving most of them French or German names?

    I’m guessing because she was trying to differentiate her series from Harry Potter, but didn’t feel like looking up actual Franco-German names, or getting the names she came up with translated.

    And why doesn’t he tell them? Like I’ve said over and over again, nobody cares that he joined Valentine in the last book. Isabelle, Alec, and Clary are all slavishly devoted to him for no reason. So, why doesn’t he just tell them? It’s not like the Inquisitor is here and he doesn’t want to tell her about Valentine because he’s afraid that she’ll immediately suspect that he’s loyal to him. These are his supposed friends.

    If I were being generous, I’d assume that Valentine pulled some mind-fuckery with Jace to make him forget (kinda like what Bane did to Clary), but I’m not sure if that’s ever explained. So until someone actually explains this, I’m going to assume Jace is lying.

    Okay, in my opinion, the only way you get away with having a character “just sensing something” is if they are a Jedi.

    It’s just so lazy. And if an author is going to pull something like this, then they should at least explain it, especially if they use it again.

    I don’t know, just seeing the name and picturing the characters saying it out loud…it just doesn’t signal “Evil Overlord” to me.

    I kind of want to know if anyone pointed this out to CC before hand. It’s not like it’s important that his name is “Valentine”.

  7. Sarah Syna on 5 March 2015, 16:22 said:

    I didn’t have a problem with them before, but now CC’s names quite bother me. And it’s not some of the names would lose much by being translated either, to make them more suited. For example, Lightwood = Lichtwald, that’s barely a change. If Simon is Jewish, why not a Jewish surname? Why not something like Valance/Valence for Valentine instead, even if only because Valentine Morgenstern is just long enough to sound clumsy. I can understand why she chose the name Valentine, since it means strong and stuff, but still.

    I do like Morgenstern though. It at least sounds like a severe name, probably because it has stern in it. XD

  8. Lurker on 5 March 2015, 17:18 said:

    @Aikaterini

    Oh, then it would be much more forgivable if she used Valentin instead, because it would be more likely given his nationality. Anyway, since I actually know people named Valentine, my first association when I see it is with the name or the saint rather than the holiday. But yeah, CC should have taken into consideration that most of her reader’s would probably only would have associated it with Valentine’s Day.

    Not that I necessarily have a problem with a villain having a non-threatening name. In fact, when bad guys have over-the-top evil-sounding names, for me it can be the cause for much eye-rolling. But the problem is that CC has failed to make Valentine threatening in anyway at all, because he’s not a very competent villain.

  9. organiclead on 5 March 2015, 17:43 said:

    I always assumed it was in reference to Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy 7.

  10. The Smith of Lie on 6 March 2015, 03:26 said:

    I’m with Lurker on this one. Valentine’s Day is not my first assocaition, possibly due to the name of that holiday beind sufficently different in my native language (though still similar). My biggest personal gripe with it is that it sounds more like a surname that a given name, but that is fairly minor gripe.

    Way bigger problem with the dude is that he, at least as far as sporkings allow to judge, does not present himself as a credible or compelling villain. I wanted to blame it on lack of screen presence, but his counterpart – Voldemort managed to be a decently interesting antagonist.

    I wonder why Valentine is so lukewarm. Probably just the fault of execution rather than of idea itself.

    Say, the idea of Shadowhunters as those guardians of humanity was kept and instead of annoying bigots they were actually some kind of supernatural police. Then lets have Valentine on the force for years. He grows more and more weary of downworlders, seeing how (some of them) prey upon humanity. He starts developing belief that all of them are just monsters to be eradicated. And then boom – the peace talks. Something breaks and he goes in with his coup in perfectly justified (in his mind) belief that he is not the traitor but the betrayed in this situation.

    And there we have basis for a villain that still is Valentine except now he is not a cartoonish cutout.

  11. Pryotra on 6 March 2015, 18:24 said:

    I wonder why Valentine is so lukewarm. Probably just the fault of execution rather than of idea itself.

    I always kind of saw the problem as an over focus on him and Jace. Since Valentine was essentially the result of a melding of Lucius Malfoy and Voldemort, Clare had the bad habit of focusing on the father bit rather than on the fact that he was the main antagonist, since the focus is always so strongly on him as the abusive father that Jace still loves.

    While this would have been strong on it’s own, it isn’t enough to be the main villain of a work.

    Also, in Harry Potter, we had books on books of build up as to just how dangerous Voldemort was. We saw him when Harry was only eleven as a parasite, and it was horrifying. We saw the misery that he inflicted when he was only sixteen. We saw the friends and families killed and torn apart. We saw his followers having a bit of fun in a situation that was disturbing as all get out.

    And then we saw Voldemort.

    And regardless of what I think of Voldemort after he regenerated, his build up was pretty intimidating, and his execution was still decently worked for a major villain. Also, he never stopped to just chat with Harry for no reason.

    Valentine has almost no build up, and even that which exists only is a shadow of what we got with Voldemort.

  12. Apep on 6 March 2015, 18:35 said:

    It doesn’t hurt that Voldemort is very quickly established as a frightening figure – even ten years after his supposed death, most wizards and witches were still afraid to say his name.

    But that’s not the case with Valentine. The first time his name is mentioned in CoB, the reaction it elicits isn’t fear, but anger. The only person who shows any fear of him is Clary, and next to Simon, she knows the least about him and what he did.

    My biggest personal gripe with it is that it sounds more like a surname that a given name, but that is fairly minor gripe.

    That might have helped – similar figures in the real world usually get referred to by their last names rather than their first names. Hell, actually referring to him by his surname (Morgenstern) would actually be more intimidating, if only because of the associations with the name’s meanings.

  13. Sarah Syna on 6 March 2015, 21:19 said:

    As well as that, using a given name for the villain is just so casual-sounding. The surname may be a bit silly, but at least using it would be a sign of respect or fear from them. You wouldn’t say George or Joseph, you’d say General Washington or Stalin, but Clary et al refer to Valentine like he’s just silly old Valentine up to his tricks again, how annoying.

    The only ones who should call him Valentine are the Lightwoods, Luke, and Jocelyn, because they actually knew him personally. But this is a fifteen year old calling Hitler Adolf.

  14. The Smith of Lie on 7 March 2015, 16:53 said:

    Sarah Syna makes a good point.

    Also, as compared to Voldemort Valentine’s just too known of a quantity. For the longest time next to nothing was known about Voldy. Who he really was, where he’d come from, et caetera. That gave him certain mystique.

    Consider the way for first 4-5 books he was talked about more like he was force of nature than a man. He showed up and killed people. He wasn’t having a family or raising (even if in a twisted way) a son. He was just this dark wizard with genocidal agenda.

    I think that, at least the way Apep relays it, CC humanized Valentine too much in a wrong way. Villain with his own motives, who does not consider himself evil is OK. Villain whom I can imagine sitting by the fireplace in fluffy sleepers is not so much ok.

  15. Pryotra on 7 March 2015, 17:22 said:

    Villain whom I can imagine sitting by the fireplace in fluffy sleepers is not so much ok.

    Lol.

    Or a villain who seems more interested in making up with his family than in…you know…being a villain.

  16. Coby Parrish on 7 March 2015, 20:30 said:

    Was it ever elaborated on, exactly what caused the Silent Brother (not sure if that’s supposed to be capitalized or not) to be so frightened that he ripped the stitches off his mouth opened?

    Also….is there any purpose for the stitches on the mouth? Aside from them looking cool…? Because (correct me if I’m wrong), they’re monks that can maintain a vow of silence for a few years to decades….and as Apep pointed out…there seems to be a running theme of Shadowhunters > Humans. So, shouldn’t the superior Shadowhunters be able to do something a human could do, and do it better?

    And Clary’s asserted herself just as much as an asshole as Draco….great.

  17. Apep on 7 March 2015, 21:02 said:

    Was it ever elaborated on, exactly what caused the Silent Brother (not sure if that’s supposed to be capitalized or not) to be so frightened that he ripped the stitches off his mouth opened?

    No, it wasn’t. But if you really want to know, it was the thing idiot winged warlock kid summoned way back in the prologue.

    And Clary’s asserted herself just as much as an asshole as Draco….great.

    She’s always been a terrible person. Remember the coffee house from the last book, where Clary immediately started trying to talk Simon into leaving, despite them being there to support Simon’s band mate (and presumably friend)?

  18. Coby Parrish on 7 March 2015, 21:23 said:

    No, it wasn’t. But if you really want to know, it was the thing idiot winged warlock kid summoned way back in the prologue.

    Thanks. XD

    She’s always been a terrible person. Remember the coffee house from the last book, where Clary immediately started trying to talk Simon into leaving, despite them being there to support Simon’s band mate (and presumably friend)?

    I know that she’s always been a deplorable person, but she’s always been at least better than Jace. This….changes that. Her total lack of regard for the mass murder that went on, and the fact she is completely focused on the condition brother who she totally doesn’t want to sleep with makes brings her down to his level, in my opinion.

  19. Ziggy on 9 March 2015, 22:03 said:

    I actually don’t have a problem with Valentine as a bad father archetype. Clare actually does a reasonably good job with it, especially in the next book where Valentine’s story is addressed in more detail and resolved (Yes, she wraps up the main villain’s storyline in book 3 and manages to churn out 3 more books for God knows what reason —- $$$, probably)

    I’m more bothered by how ineffectual Valentine is as a villain. The whole “gather the Mortal Instruments” thing is pointless — it helps Clary more than it helps Valentine himself. The whole “defend the world from demons” thing is ludicrous — the only demon invasions we ever see in the series are caused by Valentine himself. If he wants to stop demons from invading, all he has to do is stop ordering them to invade. He’s not even dangerous on an interpersonal level; I think only one sympathetic character dies in the series as a result of Valentine’s schemes and I don’t think Valentine ever even knew about it or condoned it in any way.

    (I think part of the problem is that Clare doesn’t want to inconvenience her protagonists too much. Any time there’s a major moral crisis in the way of Jace or Clary it just gets wiped away. Valentine is clearly supposed to be a moral crisis — he’s their father, can you kill your father? He’s trying to protect the human race from demons, isn’t that a good thing? A good book would make them deal with this, but Clare gave them a bailout so they don’t have to think about it.)

  20. WarriorsGate on 16 March 2015, 12:29 said:

    Villain whom I can imagine sitting by the fireplace in fluffy sleepers is not so much ok.

    Fun fact: in every shot where you don’t see Grand Moff Tarkin’s boots, Peter Cushing is actually wearing a pair of fluffy slippers. Just think about that the next time you watch him say, “Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station.”